House blocks effort to double tax deduction for couples

The limit was put in place as part of the sweeping tax cuts that a Republican-led Congress passed during then-President Donald Trump’s administration. The so-called SALT cap has led to bigger tax bills for many residents of New York, New Jersey, California and other high-cost, high-tax states, and is an important campaign issue in those states.

A procedural vote to bring up the legislation was rejected by a vote of 195-225.

While unsuccessful, the vote gave Republicans in swing congressional districts the chance to show they’re fighting to get tax relief for constituents now unable to fully deduct the amount of local and state taxes they pay. It’s a particularly important issue for the Republican members of the New York delegation, some serving in districts that President Joe Biden won in 2020.

Underscoring the political dynamics at play, the vote came just one day after Democrats took back one House seat in New York, with Tom Suozzi winning the seat left vacant last year when Republican Rep. George Santos was expelled from office.

“I think it shows the people back home that the Republicans they sent here in Biden districts fought hard to get it onto the floor,” said Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, who represents one of those districts.

Democrats used the debate Wednesday to remind the bill’s supporters which party was responsible for imposing the $10,000 cap. Republicans limited the deduction to help pay for other tax cuts in the 2017 package. They also cast the vote as an “election ploy to help New York Republicans win the next election.”

“They created this problem that they now want to put a band-aid on,” Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., said of House Republicans.

Under current law, the $10,000 cap applies to single filers and married couples filing jointly….